HPLN: Chapter 59

The City of Lahun was situated at the crossroads where the Nile Flood Plain met the oasis around Lake Moeris. Beyond the Oasis, the deserts and rocky escarpments of Marmarica lay. It was, in essence, a major transit point for anyone who might want to travel between Marmarica and Herakleopolis on the Nile. I knew it, Ptolemy Kerounos knew it, and so too did Ptolemy Philadelphos. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for Ptolemy Philadelphos, Ptolemy Kerounos had arrived first, owing to his much more mobile force. My own army linked up with his just a day or so before Ptolemy Philadelphos managed to arrive.

The reasons behind that had become clear just prior to the battle, as news filtered into our combined camp of a revolt in Heliopolis, spearheaded by various Hellenic Landowners and Merchants who were backed by the temple of Serapis. Ptolemy Philadelphos had been forced to detach forces to place Heliopolis under siege, though these forces were largely made up of Native Egyptian forces that had been recruited thanks to Ptolemy Philadelphos' recent decision to cut out the Hellenic Landowners and Aristocrats. Likely, he didn't believe that Hellenic Forces would be willing to put down the revolt. However, these forces also included War Elephants that Ptolemy Philadelphos had been attempting to bring to the Battle with Ptolemy Kerounos, redirected to Heliopolis to put down the revolt.

It all worked to our advantage, as Ptolemy Philadelphos could be seen to be betraying Hellenism as he relied more and more on Native Egyptian Forces at the expense of Hellenic Forces. Meanwhile, the fusion of Hellenic, Nubian, and Native Egyptian Forces that Ptolemy Kerounos used, bound together out of necessity with Koine Greek as a common military language, could be seen as a model of Hellenism. It lent my ally even more legitimacy than he already had by virtue of having the upper hand in the war. It was certainly something that Ptolemy Kerounos encouraged people saying, at any rate.

Regardless of any potential rebellions or political maneuvers, by the time everyone was ready to give battle at Lahun, the forces stood at a combined sixty thousand on our side, against forty thousand from Ptolemy Philadelphos. The advantage was clearly ours, even if Ptolemy Philadelphos had not been a poor commander. We formed up on the sandy plain to the west of Lahun, with our backs to the City of Lahun itself. Meanwhile, Ptolemy Philadelphos formed up with his back to the Pyramid of Senusret the Second, as it rose up from the sands in the distance. It seemed that the Fourth Pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty would bear witness to the battle, something which he likely would have abhorred were he still alive, as Senusret the Second had been something of a peacemaker in life, more wont to focus on economics and infrastructure than war, who preferred to settle disputes with diplomacy.

Still, as the battle commenced with a shower of arrows raining down upon the forces of Ptolemy Philadelphos, I couldn't help but suppress a grimace. The Bodkin Points and Nubian Longbows were deadly, and many of Ptolemy Philadelphos' Native Egyptian Troops and even some lightly armored Hellenic Peltasts would wind up watering the sandy plain with their blood. Undeterred, the lines continued to close as Ptolemy Philadelphos unleashed his surprise. Some of the Native Egyptian Spearmen broke ranks. Initially, our forces jeered them as their unit split apart at the seams. This proved to be a mistake.

The Native Egyptian Spear Unit hadn't routed, but instead parted to reveal a company of Slingers in Padded Cloth Tunics wearing wide-brimmed hats. Their small, round, wooden shields bore the emblem of the sunburst on a blue background. The appearance of this new unit could only mean one thing. Ptolemy Philadelphos had hired Mercenary Rhodian Slingers to act as his ace in the hole. No wonder he wasn't able to finance war reparations at the moment. Between his existing money troubles and now hiring the Rhodian Slingers, he had to have practically emptied the treasury in Alexandria. Unfortunately, this was a problem for us, as the Rhodian Slingers could actually fire back against our Nubian Longbows. Men began to fall on our side of the battlefield now, as well, punched off their feet by lead sling bullets hurled from Rhodian Slings.

"I don't believe it! How did he manage to hire them while suffering funding problems?" Questioned Ptolemy Kerounos from our place among the cavalry.

"Perhaps he sold off some of those works of poetics he held so dear?" I queried.

"Even then, he would have practically bankrupted the treasury!" Scowled Ptolemy Kerounos.

"Afraid there will be nothing left for you to rule with when we march into Alexandria?" I asked.

"It seems likely." Huffed Ptolemy Kerounos.

"I can extend a loan, if you wish. With the gold mines of Nubia, I know you'll be good for it." I offered.

"I may just take you up on that. However, for the moment, we have a battle to win." Intoned Ptolemy Kerounos.

"I can take my Kataphractoi out against the Rhodians. Even with the support from the Egyptian Spearmen, a solid charge ought to put them to flight." I suggested.

"I can hold my brother in place, but those slingers need to go." Agreed Ptolemy Kerounos.

"Consider it done, then." I affirmed.

And with that, I spurred my mount toward where my Son was waiting with my Kataphractoi. I nodded at him, and he immediately broke off his conversation with a nearby Kataphractoi Officer, snapping his attention back to me in the process. As I slowed my mount, I let my Son know the plan. He was less than enthused about charging Rhodian Slingers protected by Spearmen, however. That was smart of him. If he hadn't been leery of the plan, I would have been afraid that he was being a fool. Fear was only sensible in this scenario, though a wise commander learned to shove that fear down and get the job done. Still, my Son voiced his concerns to me.

"Won't we be exposed to sling fire all the way along the charge? Then have to charge a wall of spears?" He questioned.

"We would. However, it needs to be done, and every sling bullet directed at us is one less directed at the line where the primary battle is going to be fought." I insisted.

"Still, it's a bit risky, isn't it, Father?" Queried my Son.

"It is, but what else can we do?" I asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps if we had time to plan, we could come up with something." Insisted my Son.

"We have no such time. The Rhodians need to be dealt with. Form the Kataphractoi up. We're going ahead with the plan." I commanded.

"As you say, Father." Acquiesced My Son.

Soon enough, we were formed up into our wedge formation and charging across the open, dusty plain toward where the Mercenary Rhodian Slingers and their Egyptian Spearmen were still taking shots at the line. They had reaped a deadly toll. A good number of our Longbowmen had been downed, and no small number of peltasts and Phalangites had been punched off their feet as well. However, as we charged, a cry went up from the mixed unit of Rhodian Slingers and Egyptian Spearmen as we reached a third of the way to their position. They had spotted us and begun reorienting to defend against our charge. At the halfway mark, they had managed to reorient enough to begin sending lead sling bullets our way.

To my left, one of my Kataphractoi was smashed out of his saddle by a heavy leaden sling bullet punching into and through his helmet, cracking his skull. He was far from the only one, too. Men began to fall, thrown from horses that had suddenly been brained by slingstones, or punched out of the saddle as they were hit themselves. The lucky ones got hit in the Steel Linothorax and suffered bruised or cracked ribs. They would survive with care and bed rest if they weren't trampled by the horses in formation behind them. The unlucky ones never even had a chance to see what hit them, cracked in the skull by lead sling bullets that punched through helms and brained them.

By the time we reached two-thirds of the way across the plain, and again at three-quarters of the way across the plain, we were forced to tighten our ranks, our formation thinned down twice enough to merit it. My Kataphractoi were quite well-disciplined, however, and now came the time to strike back. As the Egyptian Spearmen set their spears to receive a charge of horse, I hefted my own spear in an underhand grip and threw it like a javelin. It punched into an Egyptian Spearman, goring through his chest, padded leather armor not stopping it, and bowling him back into the man behind him before drawing my Falcata. This small opening allowed me to avoid the tip of his spear, and I lashed out with my Falcata, chopping down into the Spearman to the fallen Spearman's immediate right. I wrenched my blade out of that Spearman's shoulder as my Son thrust his own spear into another Spearman, before both of our mounts trampled two more enemies.

We began to crack open the wall of Spearmen like that, lashing about with spear and blade, trampling fallen spearmen. It wasn't just my Son and I, but the rest of the remaining Kataphractoi likewise managed to get stuck in. Some fell to spear strikes from the Native Egyptian Spearmen, while others took opportunistic shots from the Mercenary Rhodian Slingers, but we were managing to crack open the defenders. I parried an incoming spear thrust aimed at my side with my Falcata, cleaving the head off the spear as I did so, before hacking into the offending Egyptian Spearman's neck. Nearby, My Son finally lost his grip on his own spear as he punched it into the chest of an Egyptian Spearman. He drew his own Falcata in time to hack down into the skull of a Bronze-helmeted Egyptian Spearman.

As we lashed about with our blades, however, it didn't go all our own way. My Son took a strike from the haft of a spear that knocked his helmet off and busted open his eyebrow above his right eye, though his riposte killed the Offending Spearman. Meanwhile, a Rhodian Slinger took aim at me, flinging a slingstone at me. I just barely managed to get my steel shield in the way of the lead bullet and immediately regretted it as the bullet smashed into my shield, cracking the bones in my left forearm. I gagged as I forcibly choked back a shout of pain, spurring my mount on as it trampled through the last of the Native Egyptian Spearmen, whittled down in numbers, but still a potent force.

The Rhodian Slingers lay ahead, with the Slinger who had cracked my arm bone out in front, clearly the commander of the Rhodian Slingers, judging from the bronze-chased iron helm with the blue horsehair crest. I charged straight for him, gritting my teeth against the throbbing pain in my left arm as I did so. The Rhodian Commander saw me, frowning, and wound up another slingstone, hurling it toward me as I closed. I just barely managed to avoid getting brained by the slingstone by a hair's breadth, swaying aside in my saddle, gagging as the motion jostled my arm. As my mount reached his position, my Falcata flashed out and sliced through his neck, decapitating him, even as my Son lashed out at the Standard Bearer, cutting the Rhodian Slinger's arm off and snatching up the Rhodian Standard. Then the rest of my Kataphractoi caught up and put the Rhodians to flight.

As I rode back to our lines, the pain began to grow in my arm from the horse ride. I would spend the rest of the battle in the reserves, getting my arm coated in plaster and having a sling fashioned from linen by my physicians. Fortunately, at this point, the Battle was well in hand, as Ptolemy Kerounos was able to steady the line while we dealt with the Rhodians just before Ptolemy Philadelphos' lines clashed with our own. For an hour, the lines ground against each other, and it was Ptolemy Philadelphos who came off the worse in the exchange. Two hours into the Battle of Lahun, and two general attacks later, Ptolemy Philadelphos had nothing to show for his efforts. The Rhodian Slingers tried to return to the battlefield at that time, but the Nubian Archers managed to force them to flee again, along with a second charge of Kataphractoi led by my Son. However, the battle continued.

At the three and a half hour mark, something happened that finally allowed us to capitalize enough to win a victory. An entire section of Ptolemy Philadelphos' Hellenic Troops surrendered to Ptolemy Kerounos' Thorakitai as they managed to pull off a flanking attack, clearly unwilling to be slaughtered. This allowed Ptolemy Kerounos to begin rolling up Ptolemy Philadelphos' Line. In the end, Ptolemy Philadelphos tried to flee with a dozen bodyguards. Thankfully, I was able to mount my horse, left arm in a sling, and ride out with my Kataphractoi one last time in the battle to block Ptolemy Philadelphos from escaping with his bodyguards as his army disintegrated around him.

As I plunged my spear into Ptolemy Philadlphos' horse, one of his nearby bodyguards slashed out with his Xiphos, cutting a line across my right bicep. I powered through the pain to cleave his head off with my Xiphos, even as another Bodyguard, this one wielding a Karian Axe, smashed his axe into my chest. Fortunately, the steel of my armor managed to blunt the iron of the axe, though my ribs creaked in protest, clearly bruised. I grit my teeth and lashed out, decapitating the Karian Axeman. A third Bodyguard punched a dagger into the meat of my thigh, deflected enough by the Pteurges of my armor that the wound was shallow enough to be stitched up, but as I cleaved his skull in twain, I realized that my wounds were piling up. Thankfully, My Son had managed to cut down three other Bodyguards, and the rest fled, leaving Ptolemy Philadelphos to be captured.

The battle didn't last much longer. I had been wounded four times, with a broken forearm, slashed bicep, punctured thigh, and bruised ribs, but we had won. It took us three thousand killed and wounded to do so, with another four thousand killed and wounded from Ptolemy Kerounos' Force, but we had managed it. In the end, we had killed or captured forty thousand enemy troops, captured the Standard of a Mercenary Force of Rhodian Slingers, and captured Ptolemy Philadelphos.

I would spend the rest of the campaign in Lahun, healing up and being tended to by my Physicians, while Ptolemy Kerounos moved to deal with the forces that his now-captured brother had sent against the rebels at Heliopolis. By the time that Fall of two-seventy-eight rolled around, I would be firmly ensconced in Cyrenaica, as a new province of my Empire, while Ptolemy Kerounos would be the undisputed ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt, as well as Nubia. Unfortunately, by the time I was fully healed and ready to take a ship back to Epirus proper, Winter had begun.

It seemed I would be spending the winter in Cyrenaica, only returning to Epirus in Spring of Two-Seventy-Seven. That, it turned out, was helpful, as it would not only allow me to personally oversee the implementation of various economic initiatives in the new Provinces, but also personally take charge of the herd of Elephants that I had been promised by Apollonios the Dioiketes. Of course, I sent my Son back to Epirus at the first opportunity. After all, I wouldn't want Lanassa to worry, now would I? What sort of husband would that make me if I did? And more importantly, what sort of discord in my marriage would result from keeping him in Cyrenaica?

I wasn't foolish enough to tempt that fate, after all. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. Pyrrhus gets wounded four times over, resulting in an extended stay in North Africa to heal up, though his actions were instrumental in winning the battle, and thus, winning the Second and Last Brother's War. As for what Ptolemy Kerounos does with Ptolemy Philadelphos, that will be revealed in the Ptolemies Update, as I will be doing another series of end-of-the-year update looks at the rest of the world, like I always do.

Place names in this chapter aren't a lot. Rhodes is Rhodes, Epirus is Epirus, while Heliopolis is in Northeastern Cairo, Herakleopolis is near the modern-day city of Beni Suef in Egypt, Lahun is on the site of the Modern-day city of Faiyum in Egypt, Nubia is in Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan, Cyrenaica is on the Northeastern Coast of Modern-Day Libya, while Lake Moeris is an extinct lake in the Faiyum Oasis, and Karia is in Southwestern Anatolia. Finally, Marmarica is on the border between Egypt and Libya.

At any rate, next up will be a series of Scenes from Elsewhere, starting with Ptolemaic Egypt before continuing with Carthage, and then the Seleucids.

Stay tuned. . .